Modernising higher education: the emergence of European public goods

• Main Author: Peter van der Hijden (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Universidad de Deusto, 2014-12-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 2340-8170; 2386-3137; 10.18543/tjhe-2(1)-2014pp19-29
• Keywords: European Higher Education Area; Bologna Process; European Research Area; EU Modernisation Agenda for Higher Education; Erasmus+; Horizon 2020; Human Resources Strategies; Doctoral Training; Education; L
• Source: Tuning Journal for Higher Education, Vol 2, Iss 1, Pp 19-29 (2014)

Universities cater mainly for national audiences. But the days of splendid isolation are over. Students, graduates, faculty and staff vote with their feet. Institutions and system are, increasingly, involved in processes of regionalisation and globalisation. This article describes how a number of European initiatives are transforming the way universities operate in education, research and management. Incentives for change range from earmarked funding to projects grants and loans, from voluntary networking and benchmarking to quality audits and rankings. These instruments for change have become part of the fabric of university life, often consolidated in institutional strategies and national legislation. They are emerging as 'European public goods'. This article highlights a number of these initiatives in the various categories and points at their impact on university practice.